The most challenging part about coming
out was worrying about what my friends at
the time were going to think about me.The
people who are my true friends supported
me fully, and the people who were not
didn’t matter to me any longer.This isn’t a
nice world to live in, but I am going to live
my life the way I feel is best.

Coming out is a lifelong
process and not every setting
is safe, so it’s important to
have a sense of security and
support. An ally is someone
who will have their back in
any given setting.
-Amie McKibban
LGBTQ ally

-Kyle Williams
Came out when he was 18

Today

Friday

11 a.m.

National Coming Out Day

Visit SAFE’s table under the UC
Bridge to “come out” about anything - not just sexuality. All “coming out” notes will be displayed
publicly.

7 p.m.
Join Freedom Indiana in a discussion about defeating House Joint
Resolution-6 during the Evansville
Community Meeting at St. Lucas
United Church of Christ. 33 W.
Virginia St. Evansville, Ind.

5 p.m.
The 2nd Annual National Coming
Out Day Rally will be held at the
Tri-State Alliance's offices located
at 501 John Street Suite 5 in Evansville. Volunteers will write letters
to Indiana legislators asking them
to oppose the Marriage Discrimination Amendment to the Indiana
Constitution. Volunteers will wave
pride flags outside for those driving
by on the Lloyd Expressway.

Community
to help
defeat
marriage
bill
By JAMES VAUGHN
News editor
Freedom Indiana is setting its
sights on Evansville this week.
The organization is committed to striking down a bill that
would alter Indiana’s Constitution, permanently banning samesex marriage, civil unions or any
legal recognition for unmarried
couples.
In August, the coalition started a statewide campaign aimed
at defeating House Joint Resolution-6 (HJR6), should the
amendment appear on a ballot
during the 2014 legislative session.
During tonight’s Evansville
Community Meeting, Freedom
Indiana representatives will
share information about the
campaign and teach individuals
how to get involved.
Safe Zone Founder Amie
McKibban plans to attend the
meeting and said she hopes others will to.
“It’s just what I do,” McKibban said. “I live and breathe social justice.”
Safe Zone’s trained allies will
be there as well.
“If I had it my way, 300 would

BILL on Pg. 3

Wagler ‘touched so many lives’
By SHANNON HALL
Staff writer

Photo courtesy of the Wagler family

Freshman accounting major Brandon Wagler died Sept, 28 in a car accident.
He played basketball and baseball. Brandon’s friend Ashton Wagler said
he was the definition of an “all-around” athlete. Brandon valued his family,
which led him to commute an hour and a half to USI from his home three
days of the week.

The Shield is a designated public forum.

Brandon Wagler told his
mother his plans for the future
Sept. 28.
“I stay(ed) up until he came
home,” said Marla Wagler,
Brandon’s mother. “He told me
he was making plans to start an
accounting firm with two of his
friends.”
Brandon died the following
morning in a car accident. His
12-year-old brother Jacob was
also in the car and received multiple stitches.
The freshman commuted
from USI to his family’s house
in Loogootee, which is about an
hour and a half away.
Brandon went to school Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays,
and then worked three days
at his father’s hardware store,
where he kept track of the books
at his father’s hardware store.
Marla said his love for math
is why he decided to be an accounting major at USI.
He decided to live at home because he wanted to stay close to
his family.
“He was like ‘Mom, I don’t
know my roommates,’ and he
seemed nervous,” she said.
Once Brandon decided to stay
at home, he became much more
excited for college, she said.
“It was working out,” Marla
said.
Brandon, who was the oldest
of four, loved his family.
“Brandon took his little brother fishing whenever he could
after work this summer,” Marla
said.
After his death, his parents
discovered that Jacob wrote a paper a year ago about if he could
be with anybody in the world for
a day, it would be Brandon.

John Stoll, who was a mentor
to Brandon, said he loved all of
his siblings, but he looked after
Jacob at school.
Jacob was in elementary
school when Brandon was in
high school, and with connecting buildings and a small town,
it was easy for Brandon to make
sure Jacob was doing all right.
“He was always checking up
on Jacob,” Stoll said.
He was sweet-natured and always had a smile on his face.
“Some kids rebel, but he never
did. He never went against our
wishes,” Marla said. “We never
had to discipline him.”
While she considered Brandon
shy, Marla discovered something
about him after he died.
“He had a group of about
20 guys who have supported
us,” she said. “I realized he has
touched so many lives.”
Randy, Brandon’s father,
agreed.
“Just the amount of people
who told us stories about him
the past week ...,” Randy said.
“He had a great influence on his
classmates.”
In high school, Brandon
played baseball and basketball.
Randy kept records for the
baseball team. Brandon was a
pitcher and a short stop.
“It was awesome to intertwine
with the baseball team during the
games and talk to him and know
what he’s thinking,” Randy said.
While he loved baseball, he
excelled in other sports as well.
Brandon was the basketball
team captain.
“I’ve seen more games of his
than I can count,” Stoll said.
“Brandon didn’t get a lot of
playing time (in basketball) until
his senior year. But, he paid his
dues.”
Stoll said Brandon made the

The students publication of the University of Southern Indiana

most of each game - his senior
year he had a great 3-point shot,
which helped the team make it to
the section championship.
But, Brandon didn’t talk a lot,
he said.
“When he said something, he
had something to say,” Stoll said.
One of Brandon’s good
friends, Ashton Wagler, said
Brandon was the definition of
the “all-around” star.
“Every sport he played, he
had success,” Ashton said. “ He
would pick up golfing and go
and beat the entire golf team on
a given day.”
Ashton said the night before
he died, Brandon was throwing a
football and made a “gorgeous”
spiral.
“Something so simple, but we
all couldn’t believe how effortless it was to him,” Ashton said.
“I asked him several times to do
it again, just so I could watch
him throw.”
Ashton met Brandon through
church a while back, but Brandon was just baptized this spring.
“He was a man of God, and
I always admired how he could
say ‘no’ to many things other
teenagers struggle with on a daily basis,” Ashton said.
Brandon had a laugh that was
contagious and hilarious, Ashton
said.
“I know people usually have
many good things to say about
people who have passed on,
but I really do mean all of this,”
Ashton said. “He had the most
bright future of all us friends. He
was going to be special when he
grew up. I always was jealous of
all the talent he possessed. That’s
the thing I’ll remember most,
how talented this young man
was. Absolute stud. We’re going
to miss him.”

Range Time Discount
USI bow shooters, receive a range time discount
at Mt. Vernon Outﬁtters. Show your USI student
ID and receive a dollar discount at the largest
indoor archery range in southern Indiana.

Mt. Vernon Outﬁtters

1331 E. 4th St.
Mt. Vernon, IN 47620
(812) 838-9771

River City Guns

Page 3 - The Shield - October 10, 2013

News Briefs
Library to close for part of break
The David L. Rice Library will be closed Saturday
and Sunday because the university will be closed for
Fall Break.
The library will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Monday. Students can expect regular hours Tuesday.

Exploring Majors and Minors Fair
University Division Advising is hosting the Exploring Majors and Minors Fair in Carter Hall Wednesday
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The different departments will showcase their academic programs and services. Students will also have
the opportunity to change their major or add a minor.

Update on ʻUSI Confessionsʼ
The “USI Confessionss” Facebook page and the “USI
Confessions” Twitter page “will be officially closed” Friday.
“Over the past few months this page has been shut
down three times, has been wrote [sic] about in the
newspaper, and has been part of a lot of controversy,”
the page administrator said in a post Sept. 27. “Due to
all of these things I have felt an increasingly amount
pressure [sic] to shut this page down.”
The page administrator said they are receiving money to shut down the pages, but refused to comment on
where the money is coming from and how much it is.
“I can tell you that me and this person [sic] have been
in talks for about two weeks, and we finally agreed on a
number that we both felt good about,” the page administrator said in a Facebook message. “It is more about
the money, plus I am getting tired of having to deal with
people getting upset about it.”
The page administrator said they created the page because Ball State had one, but it didn’t turn out the way
they wanted it to.
“When I made this page I decided that there wouldn’t
be any moderation,” the page administrator said. “I feel
like people need freedom to say what they want.”

BILL continued from Pg. 1
show up,” McKibban said.
“It’s all about the power of
numbers. We have a large
LGBTQ community here,
and I think that surprises

people.”
“The meeting is free and
they don’t need to bring
anything but themselves –
unless they want to bring

News

family and friends,” said
Megan Robertson, campaign manager. “To be
successful, we need help
from Hoosiers in every

corner of the state. Hoosiers are known for our
hospitality – this doesn’t
match that image.”

Report highlights crime
Increase in sex offenses reported
By JESSIE HELLMANN
Staff writer
USI released the 2013
Clery Report Sept. 26,
showing a decrease in the
number of those arrested
for liquor law violations
and an increase in the
number of forcible sex offenses reported.
The report, which all
public institutions are required to file with the U.S.
Department of Education
by Oct. 1, summarizes the
crimes that happened on
campus the year prior.
Public Safety Director
Steve Woodall said the
number of forcible sex offenses reported increased,
but that doesn’t necessarily mean the actual number
of offenses increased.
“There’s been an in-

crease in making people
aware, as well as training
(and) educating students
about how important it is
that they report the incidences, as well as closer
collaboration with local
law enforcement,” he said.
He said all of the offenses have one thing in
common.
“Of these incidences
that occurred here, none
involved stranger-on-victim, it was acquaintances
of the victims – they knew
the individuals who committed that act,” Woodall
said.
According to the report,
six forcible sex offenses
were reported to the Office of Public Safety in
2012. In 2011, two were
reported.
The report also shows

that the number of thefts
decreased by 16 percent.
“I think people are becoming more protective
of their property,” he said.
“Students are starting to
lock up their apartments
and vehicles and making
sure they’re locked and not
leaving valuables in plain
view.”
Those who faced university discipline for liquor
law violations decreased
by 42 percent, while discipline on drug violations
increased 70 percent.
Woodall said this is because more people have
switched to using drugs.
“Typically, marijuana
is really easy to conceal,
so maybe some (students)
switched from alcohol to
marijuana,” he said. “For
some students, it may be

their drug of choice.”
Dean of Students Angela Batista said her office
and the Office of Public
Safety have worked closer
over the past year to make
sure the Clery Report was
more accurately reported.
“We work in collaboration throughout the year in
order to collect the data,”
she said. “We’ve added
a lot of services to track
things that we weren’t
tracking before.”
Batista said people
should always err on the
side of caution when deciding whether or not to
report something.
“If someone has questions about whether or not
they should report it, then
they should do it just in
case,” she said.

Correction

Wi-Fi problems continue after switch

An incorrect photo was used for the Brandon Wagler
article in the Oct. 3 issue.

By BOBBY SHIPMAN
Staff writer

USI Security
Incident Log
10/02/13 - 10/09/13
Incident Report

Traﬃc Accident

OʼBannon Hall – 1720 Rochelle

Roundabout

10/02/13 11:53 p.m.

10/04/13 3:00 p.m.

Closed

Closed

Injury Report

Illness Report

University Center East

112 OʼBannon Hall

10/02/13 7:25 p.m.

10/05/13 3:18 a.m.

Closed

Closed

Alcohol – Underage Posses-

Code of Conduct – Alcohol –

sion

Violation

112 OʼBannon Hall

112 OʼBannon Hall

10/03/13 11:11 p.m.

10/05/13 3:18 a.m.

Closed

Closed

Harassment

Incident Report (Information

830A Crawford Ln- Orr Build-

Only)

ing

University Blvd

10/03/13 11:51 a.m.

10/05/13 9:11 p.m.

Closed
Injury Report
Theft

Parking Lot G

University Center East

10/06/13 11:04 p.m.

10/03/13 12:23 p.m.

Closed

Closed
Property Damage – University
Traﬃc Accident

824B McDonald Ln- Ralston

Parking Lot B

10/06/13 7:47 p.m.

10/03/13 3:14 p.m.

Closed

Closed
Code of Conduct – Alcohol
Traﬃc Accident

Violation

OʼDaniel South – Main Parking

8133A OʼDaniel Ln – Whit-

Lot

comb

10/03/13 6:19 p.m.

10/07/13 1:14 p.m.

Closed

Closed

Fire – Faulty Alarm

Violation of University Policy

951 Varsity Drive -Williams

8133A OʼDaniel Ln – Whit-

Building

comb

10/03/13 7:01 a.m.

10/07/13 1:14 p.m.

Closed

Closed

You can find all of this week’s incident
reports on our website at usishield.com
Information gathered from USIʼs Public Crime Log, provided by USI Safety and Security.
Crime Log Key
• Case suspended: No suspects listed, no leads. No follow up
investigation unless new information arises.
• Case cleared: The incident is resolved, suspect was identiﬁed and will
be adjudicated appropriately.
• Case pending: On hold, awaiting new information.
• Violation of University Policy: Violation of the Studentʼs Rights and
Responsibilities.
• Failure to comply with a university oﬃcial: Any university oﬃcial, from
an area coordinator to a security oﬃcer.
*Residential entry: Someone walked into the residence. This is diﬀerent than burglary because burglary is entering with intent to commit a
felony.

Some students still experience errors in USI’s
Wi-Fi after a vendor
switch.
After three years of
headaches and frustration
resulting from USI’s previous wireless Internet vendor, Enterasys, the university converted to Cisco, a
wireless provider that cost
the university between
$300,000 and $350,000.
“We found the wireless
was tremendously unstable,” said Richard Toeniskoetter, Information Technology executive director.
Connections would run
too fast or too slow, they
would constantly drop
and sometimes students
couldn’t get back on, he
said.
USI already used Cisco
for wireless Internet services.
When Cisco and Enterasys began placing blame
for malfunctions on one
another, Information Technology (IT) brought in a
third party to take a look.
They found the problem
lied with Enterasys, Toeniskoetter said.
He said that after working alongside Cisco for 12
weeks, they found that the
new iOS operating system
for Apple devices created a
major source of the prob-

lem.
“We fixed the way the
wireless talked to Apple
devices, and that stabilized
that problem quite a bit,”
Toeniskoetter said. “We
removed any 100MB connections and replaced them
with 1GB (1000MB), and
we looked at where the
wireless devices were.”
Other problems included wireless devices that
were placed incorrectly
on walls and microwaves,
disrupting internet connections.
“If somebody cooks
popcorn right next to the
wireless access point, it
could knock out the wireless for everybody in the
whole area,” Toeniskoetter
said.
He said students should
place microwaves away
from wireless access
points.
One student said she
thinks USI’s Wi-Fi has declined since the switch.
“It actually got worse
when I moved to the
apartments this year,”
sophomore
elementary
education major Taylor
VanArsdale said. “In the
dorms (last year), it didn’t
kick me off. I would lose
a little bit of the connection, but it would never
completely kick me off
like it is doing in the apartments.”
VanArsdale lived in

O’Bannon Hall as a freshman, and currently resides
in Townsend apartment.
She cannot do tests in
her room because the Internet continuously kicks
her off, she said.
Apartments and dorms
connect to the University
Center’s main computer
source separately, Toeniskoetter said.
“It is very possible
that there are a different
amount of outages happening in the dorms than there
are in the apartments,” he
said.
He advised students
who are able to access a
wired connection to do so
because it will be faster
and more stable, particularly when using Blackboard.
He said Blackboard’s
errors are not connected to
Cisco’s Wi-Fi, but to the
Internet Explorer browser
and advised using Firefox
or Google Chrome instead.
Both browsers are free
and fast to download.
Sophomore
Larissa
Fougerousse, who lives
in Jackson, said her internet repeatedly crashes and
goes in-and-out.
“If we are, like, doing
our homework, we’ll all be
like ‘aw man, it just went
off’,” the political science major said. “It really
hasn’t changed much since
last year.”

Any time a student or
faculty member calls or
emails IT about an Internet problem, they fill out
a “trouble ticket” as a record, Toeniskoetter said.
“All of the evidence that
we have would suggest
that it’s way better than
last year,” he said.
He revealed a trouble
ticket report Oct. 2, which
contained around 15 Wi-Fi
malfunctions spanning 14
days.
“Last year, (the report)
was wireless, wireless,
wireless, wireless; there
would be maybe 100 of
them in here simultaneously,” he said.
Wireless printers have
also become a reoccurring
disruption to USI’s Wi-Fi.
“Schools all over the
country are trying to figure
out what to do about wireless printers,” Toeniskoetter said.
Wireless printers broadcast a bigger signal, which
can overlay USI’s wireless
signal’s frequency.
Toeniskoetter warned
that IT is discouraging
wireless printers, and
might be forced to ban
them if they become too
problematic.
“Our wireless is way
better than a year ago.
We are not getting anywhere near the volume of
complaints,” he said. “We
know it’s not perfect.”

New lab offers convenience

By CALEB RILEY
Staff writer

David Enzler knows
there aren’t many places
on campus that can provide services like the
Recreation, Fitness and
Wellness Center (RFWC),
and he wants it to stay that
way, he said.
The Recreation, Fitness
and Wellness Director said
he is always looking for
new ways to get people
into the RFWC.
“The goal of the RFWC
is to provide as many
services as we can to students, and we are open
to any recreation as long
as it’s legal,” Enzler said.
“We want to be a true recreation center, yet have
different services that no
other place provides.”

Enzler said the busiest times for the new lab
are early in the morning
and late at night because
no other building on campus is open as often as the
RFWC.
“I see students in here
as early as 6 a.m. during
weekdays, printing off papers before their classes
start,” he said.
Freshman Eric Mason
takes advantage of the new
computer lab located on
the top floor of the Recreation, Fitness and Wellness Center.
The addition to the
RFWC made its debut in
the upstairs track area of
the building at the beginning of the Fall semester.
Students may have seen
it advertised on various
posters around campus,

by stickers on computers
located in the RFWC and
during the “Rock the Rec”
event that occurred during
Welcome Week.
“I heard there was a new
computer lab there from
a friend,” freshman Eric
Mason said. “The easy access to printers and copiers is nice, and it’s also a
secluded area to study in
since not that many people
are there when I am at the
(RFWC). It’s convenient if
you are short on time and
need to work on homework right after working
out.”
Austin Craig, a student
worker in the new lab, said
few students utilize it.
“Sometimes a few people come in, depending on
the day,” he said. “People
come in after weight lift-

ing to do homework and
other things.”
Students could also research different types of
workouts without ever
leaving the RFWC, Craig
said.
But the lab isn’t completely finished yet.
Eight Apple computers
will be installed in addition to the Windows-based
ones that are already available. Besides the desktops
in the lab, computers will
soon be available on treadmills so individuals can
workout and do school
work at the same time.
Enzler said private
study rooms could be another addition to the building in the future.

Features

Page 4 - The Shield - October 10, 2013

Live from USI

Live at the Apollo shows student talent
2.

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By ARIANA BEEDIE
Features editor
Cindy Alfaro never
thought she would have
time to participate in USI
Live at the Apollo, but in
her last semester, she finally had the time.
“I’ve been wanting to
do it every year, but I kept
having other things to do,”
she said. “I’m really happy
that I could do it for the
first and last time.”
Alfaro and Lance Grubb
performed a Latin-styled
dance called Merengue,
which is one of the fastest
Latino dances.
“Lance and I have
danced salsa and Meren-

gue before,” she said. “We
met my freshman year,
and I started teaching him
salsa, and he caught on
quickly.”
The two performed at
the International Food
Expo in Spring 2013, and
first showed the school
their dancing skills.
“I’ve been dancing as
long as I can remember,”
Alfaro said.
This year the competition had more attendants
than years past but not as
many participants.
“I was surprised we
didn’t have more dance
teams,” Alfaro said. “I
hope we inspired people to
dance.”

Junior Nick Sims signed
up for USI Live at the
Apollo for the fourth year
in a row, with hopes of
adding something different to the talent show, he
said.
“There’s nothing quite
like the feeling of someone
feeling what you’re doing,” he said. “It’s a whole
other ball game.”
Sims performed an original piece, “Epidemic,”
and he placed first in the
Individual Artist Interpretation competition.
“I decided I would do
this because it’s along the
lines of hope,” he said.
USI Live at the Apollo
featured students from

different walks of life and
brought them together to
perform their talent.
Sophomore Nehal Ninad performed original
poetry for motivation, he
said.
“Whenever I’m angry,
in order to eliminate my
anger, I write poems,” he
said. “But it’s also a way
to show I have talent.”
USI Live at the Apollo
featured acts in several
categories, including individual and group interpretation.
Public Relations Major
Elijaih Tiggs performed
a piece titled, “10 Things
I Would Say to a Black
Woman” by Joshua Ben-

nett.
“I wanted to move away
from previous performances, and get back to
my poetry roots,” the senior said.
“10 Things,” describes
a love, not just for black
women, but for all walks
of life.
“I feel like it’s a poem
that goes beyond skin color,” he said. “It’s for black
women but it uplifts all
women that can identify
with it.”
Tiggs has performed at
Apollo for the past three
years.
“I saw this piece on
Tumblr, and it was phenomenal,” he said. “I was

thinking of what to do this
year and decided on this
one.”
Tiggs placed second in
the Individual Artist Interpretation category.
USI Live at the Apollo
started as an event from
Black Student Union
(BSU), but it became a
university tradition.
Pamela Hopson, Multicultural Center director, helped coordinate the
event then and now.
“There was an increase
in desire from people
outside of BSU to participate,” Hopson said.
“We’ve been doing this for
a long time.”

Students choose different methods of listening
By ARIANA BEEDIE
Features editor
As more streaming
and download sites gain
popularity, music is readily available at people’s
fingertips. In order for
streaming sites to have artist’s material available, the
company has to have some
sort of agreement for artists to receive payment.
Many artists have submitted testimonies about
lack of payment, or the
small amounts they are being paid.
Campus students use

different streaming websites like Pandora, SoundCloud and Spotify to access new albums, classics
and rare selections.
Senior Sarah Smythe
swears by Spotify when
getting music, she said.
“My favorite part about
it is you can look at what
your friends are listening
to,” the public relations
and advertising major
said. “You can also follow
artists and see what they’re
listening to.”
Smythe purchased the
Spotify premium account,
which grants unlimited

access to artist’s work to
computers and mobile devices.
It’s the best $10 a month
ever, she said.
“I recommend Spotify to all my friends,” she
said. “I love Spotify.”
Smythe found out about
the streaming website
from her cousins in New
York who were using the
site, she said.
“I tried it and found
out it was so amazing,”
Smythe said. “It’s worth
it.”
Spotify also features
applications within the

website to help expand the
user’s music experience.
Featured applications include Pitchfork, Digster
and TuneWiki.
These apps give the listener reviews, information
and playlist suggestions
tailored to the user’s listening history.
According to Spotify’s
website, artists, record
labels, and rights owners
have contracts so that the
revenue goes to the right
places.
About 70 percent of
money made is distributed to various sources, the

website said.
Streaming
websites
aren’t the only places
students get their music.
Some just download, legally or illegally.
“I usually try to find
a leak,” Ariel Crenshaw
said. “Sometimes I buy albums, but nine times out of
10 I download it.”
At the point of downloading, it doesn’t register
that the artist isn’t getting
paid, she said.
“I’m a struggling college student,” she said.
Pandora, another music
streaming site, allows pa-

trons to listen to songs or
artists of their choosing.
Then Pandora decides
where the music journey
should go next.
Artists are also paid for
their work on this website,
but there have been complaints from artists about
just how much they’re receiving.
David Lowery, lead
singer from the band
Cracker, wrote on thetrichordist.com that he was
paid $16 for a song played
on Pandora more than 1
million times.

Page 5 - The Shield -October 10, 2013

Features

Column: Friends come together to create unique sound

Photo courtesy of JORDAN BARCLAY

By ARIANA BEEDIE
Features editor
Three local artists combine musical forces for the
sake of friendship.
Brent Sigler, Zach Zint
and Jeremy Graham make
up Sexy, etc., a jazz, funk
infused trio that focuses on
making music when they
have time to let loose.
“We’re such (a) small
ensemble, but with a
throwback sound,” Sigler

said.
Sigler, 25, plays bass
and sings, while Zint, 25,
plays piano and Graham,
31, plays drums.
Sexy, etc. formed in
2012, when the guys
made their way to each
other through Downtown
Evansville.
“I met (Graham) after
I graduated from UE and
moved downtown,” Sigler said. “I didn’t know
anyone, and I drank at the

Peephole a lot, which is
how we met.”
That was about a year
ago.
Sexy, etc. plays locally
every now and then, and
wants to keep it that way,
they said.
“We all pretty much
have (the) mindset that
we don’t want to play too
many shows,” Sigler said.
“We play shows about
once a month, which is all
right.”

Booking a show is easy
for the group, mostly because friends ask them to
play at events and everyone lives downtown, he
said.
“I don’t think we’ve actually had to book a show
yet,” Graham said. “People pick us to play. It kind
of fell into our laps.”
Before these friends became Sexy, etc., the three
honed their music skills in
different ways.
Sigler, who began learning guitar before switching
to bass in high school, uses
jazz influences to develop
the band’s sound.
“Jazz band helped me
develop my personal
style,” he said. “It forced
me to be an improvisational musician.”
Graham started on piano, but quickly changed to
drums. But, he still longs
for the keys, he said.
“I got to a point where
I wanted to play drums,”
he said. “Now I wish I’d
stuck with it [piano], seeing (Zint) play all the
time.”
Graham bought a drum

set at age 16, and he began
teaching himself.
“So for 15 years now,
I’ve been teaching myself
how to play drums,” he
said.
Zint wanted to play
guitar, but he smashed
his first, and then moved
on to keys when his mom
bought him his first Casio,
he said.
“I would learn classical
songs on it with the light
up keys,” he said. “It’s
kind of embarrassing.”
Zint transitioned his
keyboard capabilities by
using other techniques,
like learning video game
songs, he said.
“I started playing in a
reggae, jazz jam band with
guys who were a lot more
experienced than me,”
he said. “They taught me
how to play music pretty
much.”
Sexy, etc. is a side project for Sigler, Graham and
Zint, because they all work
full time and play in other
ensembles.
“We all have conflicting
schedules, so it’s hard to
get together,” Sigler said.

Being in a band with
friends makes making
music and performing go
naturally, Graham said.
“I’m in a bunch of other
musical projects, and as far
as I’m concerned it’s being
friends first,” Zint said.

Boys on ‘Bangerz’
O EM GEE Miley Cyrus’ “Bangerz” is finally available so you’re lucky that I even
have time to write this because all of my free time should be consumed by listening to
one of the best albums I have listened to in, like, forever.
I don’t want to sit here talking about “We Can’t Stop” or “Wrecking Ball” because
we already know about those songs are amazing and have epic music videos. I mean,
when Miley licked that sledge hammer it was like I was licking the sledge hammer
because that’s how emotionally connected I
am to the song.
The album has to many slow tracks, which
is why I skipped over “4x4,” “My Darlin’”
and “Rooting for my Baby” because I’m
ready to get so turned up it’s stupid.
“SMS (Bangerz)” is probably one of my
fav. songs on the album because let’s face
it, when you get two grade A divas like Miley and Britney Spears on a track with a
sick beat it could only mean a badass track.
Miley shows that she has more than just
an amazing voice but she can rap with just
much grit as anyone else in the game.
For all you girls out there who don’t like
Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”, well don’t worry because my girl Miley has your
back with “#GETITRIGHT.” It is every bit sexy as Thicke’s, but 1000 times better,
not as rappy. If this song doesn’t make you want to get it on, you’re probably Amish.
After “#GETITRIGHT”, Miley really finds herself and her sound. I can actually see
Miley playing these songs, probably because they don’t have any other feature artists,
so Miley has her own time to shine.
The level of production is mind blowing. Pharrell Williams and will.i.am, along
with the other producers of the album did an outstanding job of taking Miley’s edgy
lyrics and putting a beat to them.
Rating 5/5

By JIMMY PYLES, Staff writer

If you haven’t seen or heard about Miley Cyrus in the media in the past couple of
months, you’ve either been – depending on who you ask – living under a rock or living
life to its fullest.
There has been much controversy, and publicity surrounding her recent music videos and her performance at the Video Music Awards, all of which was basically just
promotional material for the true controversy, “Bangerz.”
I’m going to be upfront and say that I am somewhat conflicted about Cyrus’s latest
release, mainly because I don’t hate it, and I really want to.
If you look at it objectively, the album has a lot to offer sonically.
The two lead singles, “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball,” both offer defined
structures, themes, and styling. “We Can’t Stop,” although not devoid of emotion,
tends to favor catchy hooks and hip-hop influence, whereas, “Wrecking Ball,” although
certainly not lacking catchy hooks, tends to favor powerful delivery and conviction. In
my opinion, they both make for great radio singles and are a couple of Cyrus’s most
memorable tracks to date.
The problem with these songs and, ultimately, the entire album comes down to the
poor lyrical content and inconsistency of theme that runs throughout the album.
Disney’s former Hannah Montana is trying on a new look, but she’s forcing her hand
a bit too much.
Half of the album feels energetically pissed off and reckless – basically, it’s a “you
broke up with me, so I’m going to go crazy” kind of thing. The other half feels like it
is handling the situation with maturity, which I feel completely jeopardizes both the
credibility of the rest of the album, and the “badass” public persona that Miley Cyrus
has tried so hard to create.
I think “Bangerz” would only work if I believed Cyrus was actually complex and not
just putting on two separate masks.
Rating 3/5

The West Side Nut CThe
West Side Nut Club’s Fall
Festival is well underway,
and the weather seems to
be cooperating beautifully
to provide the optimal experience for festival-goers.
As an Evansville native
of 20 years, I’m a huge
fan of October and of this
fried-food extravaganza.
Although, honestly, I
don’t really care to spend

my money on most of the
things they fry.
Being a seasoned veteran of the event , I can honestly say I look forward to
the first full week in October every year.
However, I have also
realized over the past few
years that I’ve been setting
the bar too high for my expectations of the festival.
So, I’m trying not to get
my hopes up anymore.
I’m not saying the festival isn’t fun. I’m saying,

as I get older, the amount
of fun I have feels more
insignificant.
In middle school and
early high school, going to
the Fall Festival basically
amounted to the best week
of the year.
Now that I’m a junior
in college, it’s more like
one aspect of a pretty good
week.
When you grow up, you
lose that youthful element
of adventure and living
carefree.

So what we’re left with
is an overcrowded rides
and games section and a
lot of food booths.
Of course, I still like all
of these things, but year
after year it feels like the
same week is being revisited.
I think we could afford
to spice things up.
Even the events that are
put on every year are basically just the same ones as
the year before, or at least
variations of them.

I want to see some new
events and new attractions
for the future.
I understand preserving
the setup and nature of the
festival, but I think we can
continue to do that while
still managing to bring in
more well-known and talented local and regional
talent.
The Amateur Hour is
great, but after a while, it
starts feeling like the epitome of the festival.

By SHANNON HALL
Editor-in-Chief
One of USI’s goals is to
be a 24/7 campus.
Everyone knows literally being 24/7 isn’t going
to happen.
But how do we get there
if basic services aren’t
geared toward that?
Here’s my problem: I
came to campus on a Sunday to work on homework.
The campus was dead.
I ran into maybe one or
two students on the way to
UC West. It wasn’t late or
early, roughly 1-2 p.m.
After writing several
pages, I became thirsty.
But none of the “retail dining,” as the dining
services page calls it, was
open at 2:30 p.m. I looked
through all the retail dining option times. Starbucks was the first to open
at 3 p.m.
As a college student, it’s
expected that I eat every
two hours and constantly

have some sort of drink in
my hand.
According to the USI
website, 75 percent of USI
students are commuters,
which includes myself.
Commuters don’t have
a fridge like those people
who live on campus.
And I shouldn’t have to
bring a drink from home
to a college campus. There
should be options for us
there.
I wrote a comment to
USI’s dining service about
the lack of options during afternoon hours on the
weekend, and I was met
with little understanding.
I was merely suggested
to the Loft.
Apparently, the Loft is
open from 11 a.m. to 6:30
p.m., but even Sodexo’s
website calls it “resident
dining.”
Resident dining, to me,
means cafeteria.
I know it’s not, but
when I think of a quick
soda, I don’t think to go a

“cafeteria.” To get a drink,
I would think of a SimplyTo-Go area rather than the
Loft.
Okay, so the Loft and the
convenience store, which
is by the apartments, are
my two options for four
hours on the weekend.
I suggest the university
opens up more choices for
students. I know that students make up the majority
of workers, and they have
homework and life outside
of work.
Find students who can
work weekends specifically or hire people outside
USI to work.
I know that costs more,
but I think it will bring
more students in during
the weekend.
And like I said, students aren’t here during
the weekend near as much.
It’s a vicious cycle, and I
think if USI makes the first
move, it will help draw
students back to campus.

What is the number one
thing most students want
to do when they come
to college? Party. USI is
known to be a dry campus,
but some tend to think the
law doesn’t apply to them.
Recently, we heard or
read about the 31 individuals who were caught drinking underage. The drinking age is set at 21, yet for
some, the age limit keeps
going down.
A recent study done by
the Core Institute reported
that an average freshmen
male consumes around
eight drinks per week,
and the female freshmen
has around four.Again,
when people come to college, the first thing on their
minds is to party and have
a good time, but is it worth
the risk to lose everything
in the process?
The same study showed
31 percent of college students missed a class due to
substance abuse, while 22
percent tanked an exam.
Another statistic showed
that around 159,000 will

drop out due to alcohol
abuse.
Can you imagine everyone in college dropping
out due to an overuse of
alcohol? I personally can
wait until I am 21 for that
first drink because like
the majority of people on
USI’s campus, we have a
lot going for us.
Some have athletic
scholarships, some academic scholarships, and
some want to get into a
specific program. Around
campus, some groups hold
alcohol awareness events
that allows individuals
to know the many risks
of drinking alcohol at a
young age, and continuing
through college the same
way.
College students, especially the freshmen and
sophomores, need to understand how just taking
that one sip will influence
the rest of their lives. People can go as far as ending
up in the hospital or even
jail with a significant fine.
I know that my body and
mind will never have to
endure that pain. Would
yours?

Letters to
The Editor
The Shield accepts
original, unpublished
letters for all of its
readers.
Letters
should be no more
than 250 words,
signed and have a
telephone
number for verification.
The editor reserves
the right to edit for
length, style, and
grammar. Pieces will
appear in The Shield
online. Letters can
be submitted online
or via e-mail.

Guest
Commentaries
Signed
opinions
represent the views
of the author and
not the views of this
newspaper.
Opinions expressed in
unsigned editorials represent
a consensus opinion of the
editorial board

Ignore ignorant people like “Brother” Jim
By BOBBY SHIPMAN
Staff writer
A few weeks ago,
Brother Jim and “posse”
invaded USI’s free speech
zone with bigoted rants
about “blonde whores”
and USI’s “gay-infested
campus.”
When I first witnessed
the large number of students stepping forth to
deny his preachings, I was
proud.
Students shouting gems
like “I’m twerking for Jesus!” or “He doesn’t even
go here!” lightly deposed
Jim’s words.

To my dismay, students
began displaying behavior
equally as distasteful.
Students shouting, cursing and dancing provocatively merely empowered
Jim’s position (in his opinion).
The formula brother Jim
uses to encourage his ‘congregation’ unfolded before
my eyes: offend a group of
opinionated college students, watch them humiliate themselves, record it,
present footage to followers and reap the benefits.
Initially, I felt inclined
to join the ruckus - visualizing my hand guiding

a clichéd whip-cream pie
into his feral visage riled
me.
He got under my skin,
which was exactly his intent.
In dealing with ignorant
Evangelist preachers, one
must follow a few simple
rules:
1. Refrain from debating
topics not personally studied. Information gained by
hearsay rarely checks out.
2. Do not ask questions
then ignore the answers. It
conveys inadequacy and
lack of knowledge.
3. Never engage irrational people. To do so is to

become so.
This list represents a
few of many immature
acts I witnessed that day.
People like Brother Jim
get off on provoking audiences.
The simple act of going
about one’s day, as challenging as it might be, professes louder than a man
with a big stick and belligerent proclamations.
Pushing personal beliefs
upon others incites anger
within me, but provides
no excuse for Neanderthal
behavior.
If I wanted Brother Jim
to take his racist, misogy-

nistic, homophobic and
down-right evil preachings
and shove them where
God’s holy light surely
does not shine, I shouldn’t
have stood outside for 40
minutes listening to his ridiculous rants.
I probably should not
have taken one of his brochures either, which was
full of typos and incomplete sentences, by the
way.
If we learn to ignore
people like “Brother” Jim,
they will eventually go
away. At the very least we
may have made their job
exponentially duller.

Page 7 - The Shield - October 10, 2013

Sports

Eagles snap out of five-game losing streak
By JIMMY PYLES
Staff writer
The Eagles broke a five-game losing
streak after sophomore forward Brandon
Potts scored the difference making goal
late in the second half, putting Southern
Indiana up 3-2 against Saint Joseph’s College.
For Potts, this was his first goal as an
Eagle, and it came off a pass from junior
forward Caleb Mathers.
“(Mathers) played a wonderful ball,
found me in position to take a touch to
bury it home,” Potts said. “It’s great to
get this win, get this weight off our shoulders.”
The Pumas tried to answer with two
shots at the 85 and 89 minute mark,
but both attempts were stopped by senior goalkeeper Jeffrey Neidlinger, who
picked up two of his three saves of the
day during that five-minute stretch.
“We did a good job playing out style,
not letting the pressure get to us,” Potts
said.
Over the last five games, the Eagles
have only scored two goals while being
out-scored by nine.
“It’s kind of hard not to look at the stats
and everything,” senior midfielder Corey
Fundenberger said. “We have been working as a team. We feel like we have been
dominating games but struggling to finding the back of the net.”
The Eagles last scored three goals in

one game Sept. 15
against McKendree, the last game
they won prior
to Sunday’s win.
Two of the three
goals scored by
USI were assisted
by Fundenberger,
his first two of the
season.
“I’m
always
trying to find
those gaps to feed
the ball somewhere else,” Fundenberger
said.
“I worked in hard
to get loose balls,
and today my
passes were just
on target.”
With a backand-forth battle,
the Eagles needed
Photo by JIMMY PYLES/The Shield
to stay focused afCorey Fundenberger jumps to head the ball. Fundenberger had two assists in USI’s win over Saint Joseph’s College.
ter each score, said
Head Coach Mat
scored them.”
tive good team all year, and maybe even
Santoro.
The
Eagles
will
be
on
the
road
for
a championship contending team, but we
“Our guys are incredibly resilient
the
next
four
matches
before
they
return
haven’t been able to get the key plays at
through a losing streak or giving up a goal
to
Strassweg
Field
for
a
fi
nal
two-game
the right moments,” Santoro said. “The
right after we score one; they don’t hang
home
stand,
as
they
host
Truman
State
guys get a little of that belief back, knock
their heads, they just keep playing,” SanUniversity
and
Quincy
University
Oct.
25
a few in, and carry this momentum on the
toro said. “We definitely need to have betand
27
respectively.
road.”
ter focus and concentration after we score
“We
feel
like
we
have
been
a
complea goal because we gave them up after we

Hillyard leads
by example

By PAT HICKEY
Staff writer
Figuring out the recipe
to Mike Hillyard’s success
is as simple as his recruiting pitch to prospective
student-athletes.
Expectations from the
16-time Great Lakes Valley Conference cross
country coach of the year
are demanding but essential for success in a survival of the fittest world.
“The last thing I tell
every recruit is ‘you’re
going to have to love to
compete,’” Hillyard said.
“I think they come for the
structure and stick around
for the success and the
relationships built during
that success.”

It’s been said that collegiate athletes have to
choose two between academics, athletics and a
personal life. The decision
seems obvious. But carrying it out is not as easy as
it sounds.
Not all of Hillyard’s
runners can immediately
adapt to the regimen of
“study, run, eat and sleep.”
For some, it takes time.
Five-time All-American
Michael Jordan struggled
to keep up his grades early
on in his career at USI.
Jordan now serves as an
assistant to Hillyard while
earning his degree in nursing.
“He’ll never give up on
you,” Jordan said. “One of
the most important things
he would always tell us
was that it didn’t matter
what we did for the three
hours of training. What
mattered was what we did
the other 21 hours. It requires a lot of discipline
that not all 18-year-olds
are ready to deal with.”
Transitioning to such
a lifestyle depends on
many factors. Most can

have a personal life in
high school because the
training isn’t as strenuous.
Cross country runners log
about 95-miles per week.
For sophomore Johnnie
Guy, it also depended on
size of the university and
familiarity with his surroundings.
Guy originally ran cross
country at Purdue, but he
transferred to USI after his
first semester to join forces
with his brother, Josh. The
transition has paid dividends for the No.7-ranked
Eagles so far, as Guy recently turned in the top
overall time at the Spartan
Invitational on Sept. 13.
“We’re pretty close, so
it’s cool,” Guy said. “It
was a little weird not running with him (Josh) when
I was at Purdue, so that did
play a little bit of a part in
me transferring. I think it’s
cool having your brother
on the line with you.”
USI will return to action at 8 a.m. on Saturday
in Louisville, Ky., for the
Greater Louisville Classic.

View from the Cone

By ZANE CLODFELTER
Sports editor

A major point of athletics deals with adapting to
change and making adjustments. Whether it’s changing a game plan or type
of offense, athletes are
always are on their toes—
ready for whatever change
or complication comes
their way.
USI women’s soccer has
dealt with a tough Great
Lakes Valley Conference
schedule, currently sitting
at 4-3-1 in the league. The
GLVC opponents haven’t
been the toughest challenge to Krissy Engelbrecht’s Eagles though;
that title undoubtedly goes
to Mother Nature.
So far this season, two of
the five scheduled conference games at Strassweg
Field have been moved
due to inclement weather
bombarding the Evansville-metro area. USI had
a match in late September against Missouri S&T,
which was moved to the
Goebel Soccer Complex,
and this past weekend
had similar circumstances
when the match against
Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) was
moved to Evansville North
High School, 10 miles
away from campus.
Last year, we reported
that USI hoped to replace
the natural grass surface
on the field with artificial
turf in the near future.

The money allotted would
come from a small piece of
the $50 million campaign
announced last year titled,
“Elevating Excellence.”
Estimated costs for the
field transformation are
said to be around $1 million.
“I think it can help more
than just the soccer program,” said USI Athletic
Director Jon Mark Hall
last April. “Its gives us
more space.”
Others at the university
were optimistic that the
job would get done.
The university has to
follow through. It has to
get the job done.
With the obvious absence of football on this
campus, soccer is a vital
sport for USI athletics and
its fans. It’s an outdoor
sport, and a sport that attracts a lot of students.
It’s not fair to the student
athletes that they can’t play
in familiar surroundings at
Strassweg, instead, weather forces games to move
far from campus because

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

10 a.m.–2 p.m.

University Center, Carter Hall

Spo
S
Sp
po

the amount of rain on the
natural grass surface.
Situations like this
make it difficult for those
without cars to attend the
games, alienating some
fans who had a general interest in the sport.
It’s also a disadvantage
to USI. Instead of focusing
on the match and opponent
at hand, they have to worry
about whether or not they
will be able to play, or
where the match will be
held.
USI needs to make it a
priority to improve athletic
facilities, and it starts with
replacing the natural grass
at Strassweg.
I give a lot of credit to
Engelbrecht and her team
for battling the elements,
while still having solid
overall record of 6-3-1,
winning both games that
had to be moved because
of bad weather.
The Eagles haven’t
let the adverse situations
bother them, instead they
continue to win.
Now it’s time for the
university to step up and
deliver its promise of better turf at Strassweg.
The home site carousel
has run its course. Let’s
take it out of Mother Nature’s hands and create our
own destiny.
It starts with a commitment, and the question remains, who will be willing
to make it?

The Shield - October 10, 2013

Page 8

Heldman breaks
all-time digs record

Photo courtesy of Photo Services

Heldman celebrates with teammates in a match at the Physical Activities Center.

By ZANE CLODFELTER
Sports editor

Southern Indiana senior Libero Kayla Heldman broke the school’s all-time digs record in the Eagles’ 3-2 road loss to the University of Indianapolis.
The record-breaking dig was Heldman’s tenth of the game, and happened in the third
set of the match. Heldman passed previous record-holder Amanda Probst with a digs
total of 1,491.
Heldman would add 11 more digs in the remaining two sets to improve her all-time
mark to 1,502, but it wasn’t enough for the Eagles, who fell to 10-4 overall and 4-2 in
Great Lakes Valley Conference action.
Indianapolis jumped on top early, taking the first set against the Eagles by a tally of
25-23. The Greyhounds (9-5, 5-1 GLVC) totaled 22 kills, while USI accumulated 16.
USI battled back in the second set, taking it 25-20, before Indianapolis rallied to win
set three 26-24.
USI responded in the fourth set by winning 25-20, but fell in the decisive fifth set by
a final of 15-11.
The Eagles continue their long road trip this weekend, visiting Lewis on Friday, before traveling to Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday. USI returns to the Physical Activities
Center Tuesday, when it welcomes longtime rival Kentucky Wesleyan. The match is
scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

“Nearly Midnight Madness” is set for Oct. 16, according to a release from by the
Southern Indiana Student Government Association and Red Zone. The event will mark
the official tip-off on campus for the Eagles 2013-14 basketball campaign.
Doors will open at 8 p.m. that night, and will include performances from the USI
cheer and dance teams, followed by team introductions for all athletic sports, and special introductions for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
In addition, both the men and women will participate in inter-squad scrimmages
and will also take part in three-point and dunking contests. The event will also include
free food to attendees, along with carnival-style games. Students will have a chance to
participate in a half-court shooting contest.
USI opens its exhibition schedule Oct. 26 at Indiana University, followed by another
exhibition matchup against the University of Tennessee Nov. 7. The Eagles open the
regular-season against former Great Lakes Valley Conference foe Kentucky Wesleyan
in Owensboro on Nov. 19.
Rodney Watson enters his fifth season as head coach, and returns three starters from
last season’s team that went 23-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA
tournament.
The Eagles will welcome Lake Erie Nov. 23 to open the home schedule.